| “ | Once the Dominator and his minions fell and were buried in their mounds behind barriers wrought of the finest magicks of their day, the White Rose decreed that an eternal guard be posted. A guard beholden to none, charged with preventing the resurrection of the undead evil beneath the mounds. The White Rose understood human nature. Always there would be those who would see profit in using or following the Dominator. Always there would be worshippers of evil who wished their champion freed. | ” |
The Eternal Guard was the hereditary military force in charge of the Barrowland, located in the Great Forest of the northern continent. Their mission was to keep the Dominator, the Lady, the Ten Who Were Taken, and their menagerie of demons buried forever beneath the earth there. For centuries, it was fully independent, but when Resurrectionists enabled the Lady and the Ten to escape, the group became subsumed into the army of the Lady's Empire.
Before Croaker's Annals[]
The White Rose Rebellion[]
For about a century, a vast portion of the northern continent was ruled by the Dominator, his wife the Lady, and their powerful enforcers, the Ten Who Were Taken. This was the period called the Domination. The sorcerers were overthrown by a mysterious general known only as the White Rose in a famous Rebellion that took place in the Great Forest. The Dominator and the others were buried alive but unconscious within a series of tombs called the Barrowland. The White Rose installed numerous features to keep the tyrants trapped within forever. One of these was the Eternal Guard, an independent army tasked to make sure no one would break the enchantments. The commander of this garrison was called the Monitor.
The group became hereditary. The original Guard members passed down their responsibilities to their sons, and this continued for 370 years.
Liberation of the Lady and the Ten[]
Three hundred and seventy years after the establishment of the Barrowland, during the lifetime of the wizard Bomanz and when Besand was Monitor, the Eternal Guard was suffering low morale and lack of funds and manpower. Bomanz lived among the Guard, disguised as an antique digger for 37 years. Upon the tenth return of the Great Comet, a group of Resurrectionists ambushed the Eternal Guard. During this incident, Bomanz and the Guard fought ferociously, but were too late. The Lady escaped from the Great Barrow and the Taken rose from their graves. The Dominator, and his pet demons, however, remained trapped on account of the Lady's deception, so that she could build an empire of her own. For the next several decades, the Lady and the Ten built a new empire. But her most important task was always to ensure that her husband remained trapped. The Lady transformed the Eternal Guard into a special unit of her imperial army, and it experienced an influx in funds and manpower.
Shadows Linger[]
- Main article: Shadows Linger
The Eternal Guard experienced another resurgence when the Lady and her new Taken realized that the Dominator was attempting to escape from the Barrowland using his black castle scheme. A small advance force from the Black Company was flown in by Whisper; Croaker spent a month and a half there researching the past of the Guard and the Barrowland. He drank with the Monitor, who bragged about the Guard's history, which was as old as the Company's.
The White Rose[]
- Main article: The White Rose
Raven, using the cover name of "Corbie", gained the trust of the Eternal Guard. He befriended a young Guardsman, Case, and did drudge work that was hired out by the Guardsmen. Despite the increasing danger posted by the Dominator, who was stirring in the Great Barrow, the Guard still did not have a proper physician and relied upon a horse doctor named Holts for medical treatment. During this time period, the Monitor was Colonel Sweet, who answered to the new Taken. Another high-ranking officer of the outfit was Major Klief. The Eternal Guard suffered "scores" of fatalities and injuries during the climactic Battle of the Barrowland.
The Silver Spike[]
Of the Guardsmen who survived the Battle of the Barrowland, some trickled away throughout the following year. The presence of the Sapling as the guardian of the silver spike was thought to render the Eternal Guard obsolete. Those who remained in the Barrowland were wiped out by Limper, Toadkiller Dog, and their force of 50 Great Forest tribesmen who swept through the area, taking no prisoners, in The Silver Spike.